A Systems Practice Approach to Sustainable Implementation of HPV-based Screening in the Peruvian Amazon
Patti E. Gravitt, Ph.D., M.S. is a Professor of Global Health at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is a molecular epidemiologist whose research in human papillomavirus and cervical cancer spans the translational spectrum from the natural history of genital infection across the lifespan to the translation of evidence-based prevention tools to low and middle income countries. She has contributed significantly to the evidence base regarding the efficacy of alternative cervical cancer screening strategies, being among the first to show an increase in screening coverage afforded by self-collected sampling and HPV testing and the relatively poor performance of visual inspection methods where intensive international technical assistance and training are not available (i.e., the majority of LMIC settings).
Currently, Dr. Gravitt is leading a team of interdisciplinary research scientists and screening implementers to use a systems thinking approach to the design, implementation, and evaluation of WHO-recommended, HPV-based screening algorithms. She earned her Ph.D. in Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and her M.S. in Biology from University of North Carolina, Charlotte.